First Class SOLDIER
by The Lovely Cynic
Summary: Cloud is a Cadet in SOLDIER training. He's also desperatly homesick. Zack sees this and seeks to comfort him. [ZackCloud][Yaoi]


**First-Class SOLDIER**

**A/N: **Oh, goodness… ZackCloud is definitely a first for me. XD; I've only ever written LeonCloud or CloudReno. o-o I hope you enjoy my stab at one of my favorite pairings!

Thanks, Carolann, for the idea! 8D

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Cloud, ever since he was little, had always dreamed of being in SOLDIER. He had always wanted to be strong and to protect the ones he loved. He had always looked up to Sephiroth as being a hero, someone _to _be looked up to. Ever since he had been rejected from SOLDIER, he had only been more determined to join.

But at this very moment, a young Cloud Strife was contemplating his belonging in the SOLDIER program. Yes, he had wanted to _protect _the people he loved, but…

The blonde was never a big fan of killing anyone. In fact, the thought of killing somebody made the young teen sick to his stomach. He guessed he'd have to get over it if he wanted to be in SOLDIER… _Did _he want to be in SOLDIER?

The teen sighed, slumping over outside his tent. He frowned, blue eyes turning up to the sky. The clouds were playing out different shapes, always constantly changing. He suddenly thought he saw a face in the clouds… a face he had left behind.

"Tifa…"

His voice was barely a whisper on the wind. As quickly as the face had appeared, it vanished into an obscure white shape again. Cloud felt a sadness welling within him. He had left all that behind at home to come _here_. To learn how to _protect _Tifa. But what if she was in trouble at that very moment? He couldn't save her now…

Cloud growled, his thoughts continuing to let him spiral into a dark abyss of depression. He missed home. All he had here was the small hope of becoming a SOLDIER… and the hope of someday meeting General Sephiroth, his hero. He had family at home, in a sense.

The blonde teen faintly wondered if you could control the clouds with your mind, for Tifa's face was back. Perhaps your subconscious played out what you wanted to see in the sky. But right at that moment, home was the _last _place Cloud wanted to be reminded of. It would only make him more miserable than he already was…

"Cadet!"

Cloud jumped, hopping to his feet and saluting as quickly as he could, "Sir?" his voice nearly cracked.

His superior sighed, "One of the SOLDIERs is requesting to see you, Cadet,"

"…Sir?" Cloud blinked, brow knitting together in a confused manner. There was only one SOLDIER Cloud could think of that he would even _know_… Even so, they had only spoken on a few select occasions…

"Get a move on, Cadet! He's waiting by the end tent! _Move, move, move_!"

Cloud nodded furiously starting to jog his way over to the end tent. Even his superiors didn't want to keep a SOLDIER waiting… Even so, the camp was damn big. The blonde was in fairly good and could barely stand jogging across the entire thing.

When he finally got to the end, he was panting and staring at the ground with his hands on his thighs.

"Hey, Spike!" a familiar voice started laughing. Cloud felt a hand slap him across the back, knocking the wind out of him. The blonde fell to his knees, coughing and hacking uncontrollably. He heard a small 'oops' from behind him and saw the man fall to his knees. He rubbed Cloud's back, trying to soothe the coughing.

"Zack!" The blonde finally managed to rasp out, "What was _that _for?"

"I was just saying hi!" Zack protested, "I heard from one of the SOLDIERs that there was some spiky blonde-haired Cadet sitting outside his tent looking depressed! And I was thinking that I only know _one _spiky blonde-haired Cadet, so I sent someone off to get you. I wanted to cheer you up, Spiky," he grinned, "I just told that guy to tell you a SOLDIER sent for you,"

Cloud sighed, flashing Zack a small smile, "Well, you _are _the only SOLDIER I know, Zack. Who else could it have been?"

"Well, General _Sephiroth _could have sent for you," the black-haired man teased.

"Don't even _tease_," Cloud snorted.

"Ah, come on, Spike, I know you've got a boner for him!"

"_Zack_!" the blonde hissed, punching his arm, "I do _not_," he pouted.

Zack laughed, squeezing Cloud's shoulders, "I'm kidding, kid, come on," he sighed, wide grin turning into a little smile. "So… what's got you so depressed today?" he asked, bright violet eyes turning to lock with bright blue ones.

Cloud bit his lip, turning his head to the ground, "I dunno… I just miss home, I guess," he shrugged.

Zack nodded, understanding, "Yeah, I get like that sometimes. Well, more so when I first started out as a Cadet… Kind of like you, Cloud," he smirked, staying silent for a few moments, "Come on, I want to show you something," he muttered, dragging the blond up. He gently grabbed his hand and led him away from the camp. The walk only lasted a few minutes before they ended up at a small cliff overlooking the desert horizon. The sun was just starting to set, staining the sky and ground a bright orange. Zack sighed, plopping down on the cliff. Cloud blinked, slow to sit down next to his friend. "This is where I go when I get home sick or something like that. It's sort of… calming here, don't you think?"

"Yeah," the Cadet mumbled in response, staring at the setting sun, "It's beautiful," he breathed, biting his lip. "Did you have any family at home, Zack?" Cloud asked suddenly.

Zack turned his head to the blonde and shrugged, "I only had a girlfriend when I left. I don't really expect her to still be waiting for me, though. I mean… that was a long time ago. She was really sweet and kind and pretty…" he sighed, a tiny smile on his face in remembrance of his girlfriend back home.

"Are you… sad?" Cloud muttered.

Zack blinked and laughed slightly, "Well, I guess… a bit. I mean I _was _her first boyfriend. But I'll see her again once I'm out of here, right?" he grinned over at the blonde, chuckling under his breath, "You had a friend at home, right, Spiky?"

"Yeah," Cloud sighed, frowning, "Her name was Tifa…"

Zack looked over at his friend, concern apparent on her face, "You'll see each other again. You'll get out of here, I promise," he mumbled, wrapping his arm around Cloud's waist.

The Cadet relaxed in his friend's grasp, still feeling the homesickness welling within him. "You can't promise that, Zack…" he murmured.

"Yes I can," the raven-haired man narrowed his eyes, "If _you _can't get out, _I'll _you out," he said with an edge of determination to his voice, "Because we're friends, right? And friends help each other out,"

Cloud stared at Zack, dumbfounded, "Zack," he whispered, "I…" he chewed on his bottom lip, "Thank you," he said softly. The truth was that Zack was Cloud's first good friend since Tifa. If Zack wasn't there in this camp with him…

The sudden touching of lips jerked Cloud out of his thoughts and back to reality. He started blinking furiously, Zack just staying there, not willing to move any further unless Cloud wanted him to. To the blonde's surprise, he found himself kissing back rather quickly. Zack's other hand came up and ran itself through Cloud's blonde spikes. The Cadet moaned, gripping the other man's hair. The black-haired man pried the younger one's lips open, tongue gingerly invading the other's mouth. Cloud whimpered, moving his tongue against Zack's.

Eventually pulling back to breathe, the pair were left panting and smiling. The older man rested his forehead against the blonde's, opening his eyes to observe him, "But… but what about your _girl_-"

Zack chuckled in response to his young companion, "I told you, Cloud… that was a _long _time ago. I'm far away from home and… well, it's been too long for anything to come of it," he sighed, "Besides… I love you, Spike," he grinned, placing a kiss on Cloud's forehead.

The blonde stared dumbly for a moment. _Love_… A small smile reached Cloud's lips. He gripped the back of Zack's head, surging forward and pressing a short, passionate kiss on the SOLDIER's lips, "I love you, too,"

---**End**


End file.
